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Patented April 26,1881.

INVENTOR q@ 7' ATTORNEY WITNESSES 7 UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

JOHN WRIGHT AND ANDREW WRIGHT, OF ROHNERVILLE, CALIFORNIA.

GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 240,567, dated April 26, 1881. Application filed February 16, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN WRIGHT and ANDREW WRIGHT, of Rohnerville, in the county of Humboldt and State of California, have jointly invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gates; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

Our invention relates to an improvement in gates, the object being to produce a double gate the two portions of which are adapted to be operated in opposite directions by automatic mechanism. With this end in view our invention consists in certain details of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a view, in perspective, of a double gate as constructed in accordance with ourinvention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of oneof the gate-posts; and Fig. 3 is aview, in vertical section, through the pair of pulleys mounted on one of the posts, to show the device for unlatching the gate.

Let Arepresent frame-posts, strengthened by flying braces O O. A cross-beam, D, is secured to the top of the two frame-posts A A. An gularbracesE, havin gtheir'upper and lower ends respectively secured to the cross-beam D and frame-posts A A, aid in preserving the desired form of the gate-frame.

Grate-posts F, located opposite each other and just within the frame-posts, are adapted to have vertical axial rotation in the gateframe. The lower ends of said gate-posts are in this instance provided with a pin, G, which is received and has pivotal movement in a socket, H, embedded in the ground. Apertures A, at each end of the cross-beam D, admit the tenoned upper ends of the posts F, andjare adapted to permit their free revolutions therein.

Grates G, rigidly secured to the posts F, near their lower extremities, partake of the motion of the posts to which they are respectively attached, and which, aswillbe presently shown, revolve in opposite directions. 1

Pulleys D, having grooved'fperipheries E, in which is received a flexible connection, F, encircling them, are rigidly secured to that end of the gate-post which projects through the cross-beam D.

In the construction shown the upper ends of the gate-posts are each configurated to form a square block, G, between two circular portions, H and I, of unequal diameter. The larger, I, of the circular portions of the posts are received in the apertures A in the ends of the cross-beam, the squared portions G receive, in rigid adjustment, the pulleys D,while the extreme upper ends of the posts, forming the smaller, H, of the circular portions, are adapted to receive the flanged pulley A upon which the flexible connection A, between the counter-weights B is disposed. Said pulleys also serve to operate the gate-latch, to behereinatter described.

It is apparent that we need not, of necessity, adopt the precise construction of gate-post shown, but may make formal changes without transcending the spirit of the invention.

As has been observed, the pulleys A are free to rotate on the ends H of the posts, and consequently do not partake of the motion thereof only through the pulleys D rigidly secured thereto, and which have pins 13 situated in their upper faces, said pins being received in segmental slots 0 in the pulleys A which are mounted on the pulleys D, as before described. When, now, the rotary movement of the pulleys D brings the pins B in engagement with either end of the segmental slots U in the pulleys A they will be caused to revolve therewith. The pulleys A are retained in position on the posts by washers or, held in place by pins A passing through'the tenons I, at the extreme upper ends of the posts.

Posts D located respectively to the right and in front of the gate-frame, and to the left and in the rear thereof, are situated in planes outwardly inclined to the frame-posts, andhave peripherally grooved sheaves E mounted in their upper ends. I

Flexible connection A before alluded to as connecting the base'pulleys A and having counter-weights B at both ends,-after encircling the said pulleys passes over thesheaves E mounted in the inclined posts 13 which latter have such inclination that they will carry the ends of the ropes aforesaid to such position that they may be manipulated in opening and closing the gates without approaching them closely enough to interfere with them.

Levers A attached to the said inclined posts D midway of their lengths, fulfill a twofold function: first, when counter-weights are used the said levers may be erected to preventthem from swinging unduly; and, second, when the counter-weights are dispensed with, the ends of the flexible connection may be secured to the levers, whereby it may be more easily manipulated.

Vertical posts a are attached to the inner ends of the gates, at right angles with their lengths. One of said vertical posts has a spring latch-bar, a attached toits inner face, while the other post, a, has a recess, 7), to admit the pin 0, which is attached to the latchbar, and which projects through the vertical post to which it is secured into the recess bin the opposite post, as aforesaid.

A cord, 01, connects the top of the latch-bar and the loose pulley A, and through the latter operates the latch in looking and unlocking the gate. The elasticity of the latch-bar is such that it will, in its normal position and uninfluenced by the pulley A keep the gates locked when closed, or ready to immediately enter into locked adjustment when open.

Inclined blocks d d prevent the gates from swin gin gpast each other in closing, and blocks a e prevent them from swinging too far outward when they are opened.

The gate-posts are caused to rotate in opposite directions by making different dispositions of the flexible connections A on the pulleys A and is accomplished by simply arranging the said connection, which may be cord, rope, chain, or other flexible material, to e11- circle the two loose pulleys A in different directions. For instance, by passing it around the pulley of the right-hand gate post from left to right, and around the pulley of the lefthand gate-post from right to left, the pulleys will each impart an opposite rotary movement from their own to the other.

Having thus described our invention in detail, we will now proceed to describe its method of operation.

Be it presumed, first, that the gates are closed and locked. The counter-weights are of the same and of such weight as to easilyovercome the weight represented by the power required to operate the gates. If, now, the right hand weight be lifted, the equilibrium between the two weights will be destroyed, the lifted weight will rise, and the left-hand weight will descend. The motion thus induced in the flexible connection will cause the loose pulley of the right-hand gate-post to turn slowly from left to right, and the loose pulley of the lefthand post to turn from right to left. The movement of the latter pulley will operate to Overcome the elasticity of the latch-bar and withdraw its pin from engagement with the vertical post ofthe right-hand gate. The parts of the gate are arranged to operate in such concert that as soon as the unlatching of the gates is attained the pins located on the lower pulleys, which, it will be remembered, are rigidly secured to the gate-posts, will have reached respectively the outer end of the segmental slot in the right of the loose pulleys and the inner end of the segmental slot in the left of said pulleys. The weights still continuing to move the loose pulleys through the flexible cord, the rigid pulleys, together with the gateposts and gates, will partake of their opposite motion and be turned in opposite directions, the right-hand gate swinging to the right and the left-hand gate opening to the left. The flexible cord received in the peripheries of the rigid pulleys encircles them both, and transmits any motion that may be imparted to either to the one in repose. The counter-weights being equally heavy, as soon as the liftingforce is removed equilibrium will be restored, and the gates will rest at that point of their motion when the restoration of equilibrium took place. Therefore, if they were completely opened, they will remain so without further attention.

To shut the gates through the right-hand end of the flexible connection it is necessary to overcome the equilibrium between the weights by pulling down on that end or weight. The weight represented by the power thus exerted will destroy the equilibrium and shut the gate.

The operation of opening and closing the gates from the rear is exactly the reverse of that necessary to open them from the front approach. For instance, to open the gates the equilibrium must be destroyed by additional weight on the left-hand counter-weight, while to close them it must be destroyed by raising the said weight.

In the foregoing description it has been assumed that the gates are being opened or closed by parties at a distance from them-as, for instance, by a driver without leaving his team, or by an equestrian without dismounting; but it is apparent that a pedestrian may open the gates from either side by simply exerting a pull or pressure directly on the gates themselves. In this latter instance the latch will have to be operated by hand, instead of automatically, as when the gates are operated through the flexible connections or weights.

If desired, we can dispense with one of the loose top pulleys by placing both of the inclined posts on the same side of the gate and providing each post with two sheaves instead of one sheave, as described. In this adjustment the cords will pass over the lower sheave on the inclined posts, then encircle the loose pulley on the gate-post, and from thence over the top sheave on the inclined posts. The ends of the cords or connections are provided each with a light weight, and downward pulls of the cords will in one instance open and in an other instance close the gates.

When properly adjusted the different parts of our gate act in such nice concert that, even though the gates be large and heavy, comparatively little power is necessary to open and close them.

Again, our gates combine simplicity of construction and ease of operation with durability in use and comparative cheapness of manufacture and erection.

We would have it understood that we do not limit ourselves to the exact construction shown and described, but hold ourselves at liberty to make such slight changes and alterations as fairly fall within the scope and spirit of our invention.

Having fully described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. In a double gate, the combination, with a frame, of two vertical gate-posts supporting gates, pulleys rigidly secured to the upper ends of the posts, pins located in the upper faces of thefixed pulleys, and loose pulleys having slots in their faces to receive the pins of the fixed pulleys on which they have bearing, substantially as set forth.

2. In a double gate, the combination, with two vertical gate-posts supporting gates and adapted to have rotary movement, pulleys rigidly secured to the upper ends of the posts, loose pulleys having bearing on the fixed pulleys, the motion of one pulley being communicated to the other by apin-and-slot device, and independent flexible connection between the two sets of pulleys,substantially as set forth.

3. In adouble gate, the combination, with two vertical rotating gate posts supporting gates, of a fixed and a loose pulley mounted on each post, a pin-and-slot device adapting the said pulleys to transmit motion one to the other, and an endless flexible band encircling the fixed pulleys, and a flexible connection encircling the loose pulleys in different directions, substantially as set forth.

4. In a double gate, the combination, with two gate-posts supportin g gates, of a fixed and a loose pulley' mounted on each post, devices adapting the said pulleys to transmit independent motion to each other whereby the gates are automatically unlocked and swung open in opposite directions, substantially as set forth.

5. In a double gate, the combination, with two vertical rotating gate-posts supporting each a fixed and a loose pulley, of inclined posts having sheaves mounted in their upper ends, levers attached to the inclined posts, and aflexible connection encircling the loose pulleys in difierent directions and passing over the sheaves in theinclined posts, and counterweights attached to each end of said flexible connection, substantially as set forth.

6. In a double gate, the combination, with a spring latch-bar attached to one gate and provided with a pin adapted to engage with the other gate and lock it, of a loose pulley, actuated in rotation by a flexible connection between the two pulleys mounted on the gateposts and cord-connection between one of the loose pulleys and the latch-bar, the rotation of the said pulley operating to spring the latchbar and unlock the gate.

7. In a double gate, the combination, with a spring latch-bar attached to one gate and provided with a pin adapted to engage the other gate and lock it, of cord-connection between the latch-bar and a loose pulley mounted on one of the gate-posts, the rotation of said pulley operating through the cord to spring the latch bar and unlock the gate, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing we have hereunto set our hands.

JOHN WRIGHT. ANDREW \VRIGHT.

Witnesses:

JOHN W. FELL,

BENEDICT WERNER. 

